One of our EVAs is Missing!
by Sumo Rabbit
Summary: Was the disappearance of Unit-04 and Nerv-2 really caused by a test accident? Or was there any truth to the rumours of involvement by a sinister corporation, up to no good?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Gainax and Pearls Before Swine is owned by the supreme human being that is Stephan Pastis.

 **Nerv HQ.**  
 **Tokyo-3.**

In his darkened office, Gendo Ikari watched his deputy Kozo Fuyutsuki turn as pale as Rei, as he listened to the frantic message over the phone.  
"It disappeared?! The entire Second Branch just vanished?!"

 **United States.**  
 **A few weeks earlier**.

Larry was not having an easy time trying to get his voice heard over the din.

"Bruddahs! Bruddahs! Calm down! Dis is da executive boardroom of Eetazeeb Corporayshun, not sum watering hole! Me calls for order! Floyd! Shut mouf!"

The hubbub culminated in the sound of a gunshot, followed by silence, as all eyes turned to the still smoking gun being waved, menacingly, by a duck. A duck with an attitude, and an arsenal to match.

After a few seconds, the duck broke the silence. "Thank you, gentlemen."  
With a nod to the cat sitting beside him, "My esteemed colleague and I were invited here in order to do business with who we were led to believe were fellow professionals. I sincerely hope I was not mistaken in coming here. I'd hate to have wasted my time. After all, time is money, and I could always do with a new pair of croc skin boots."

Silence met his words, as most of the board proceeded to try and make themselves as small a target as possible. Finally, Larry broke the silence.

"Meester Duck, we'd want you and your friend to get us a masheen. A big one. We theenk it is in Neevaduh, and your pay will be gud."  
"Nevada, huh? What kind of machine? Car, plane, secret spy thing from Area 51? Heh, heh."  
"We want you to get us da big Evan-jellybean robot from da NERV base there."

It's not too often one could shut Guard Duck up, or even rarer, make Mr. Snuffles's jaw drop, but Larry Da Croc became one of the few individuals on planet Earth to succeed.

"You want us to break in to NERV's second branch, one of the most heavily guarded places on Earth, a place that makes Area 51 look like Times Square, and you want us to steal an eighty metre high robot?"  
"Yep! You is da smart duck!"  
"You have got to be kidding. Have you any idea what would happen if we were found-"  
"Meow."  
"Are you serious?"  
"Meow...meow."  
"What did cat say?"  
"He says it will be a good challenge for someone of his skills, but wants to know where you're going to put it after we deliver it. After all, it's not the easiest thing to hide a giant robot that the entire UN will be looking for."  
"Ohhh... me not theenk about that. Mebbe me park it in basement."

"What? Okay, this meeting is OVER. We're outta..."  
"Meow. Purrrr..."  
"Yeah, you're right. They're not going to look for it if they think it's destroyed. Okay crocs. You got yourself a deal, on one condition." He named a figure.

Some of the crocs paled, but nodded. Guard Duck wasn't finished, however. "Oh, and you pay in advance."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Gainax and Pearls Before Swine is owned by the supreme human being that is Stephan Pastis.

 **NERV Second Branch.**  
 **A week before its destruction.**

Some facilities are built with an eye to blending into their surroundings, to be pleasing to the eye. Nerv's Second Branch was not one of those places.  
An ugly collection of squat buildings, it was a heavily defended area in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by watchtowers, fences and armed security. And a large kill zone.  
Up in one of the watchtowers, one of those heavily armed guards was scanning the area, looking for any potential hostiles. Seeing none, he stretched, turned to his comrade who was looking at a couple of monitors. "Another quiet day in Dullsville. Nothing to see. Just like yesterday. And the day before."  
"Well, it's coming up to midday, you want to do the coffee run or me?"  
"I'll do it, could do with stretching my legs. I'll just have another quick look before I go, aaaaand... oh look at that. Nothing whatsoever."  
Grinning, the second guard nodded. "Get outta here funny fella."

What they failed to see, however, were two diminutive figures atop a hill in the distance, watching them through high powered binoculars.  
"Meow."  
"You're right, they don't appear to be on particularly high alert and there does appear to be patterns. I think that if we're careful, we should be able to get inside their perimeter without much trouble. Getting round the place once we're inside could be another story."  
Snuffles just pointed at the satellite photos he had with him."Mereow!"  
"You think they have motion detectors in place? Good bet, but I think they'll probably have them set to a certain level to avoid being constantly tripped by the local wildlife. We should be alright."  
"Meow... meow."  
"Okay okay, I'll head towards the fence to check. Any particular areas you want me to check out? Possible ingress and egress routes?"  
"Meow."  
"Will do. And yeah, you know it's probably electrified. I don't plan on getting that close to it, but if the opportunity presents itself to get a bit closer, why not, right? Back in a bit. Keep a good lookout. And for the love of Maura, don't hesitate to give me a heads up if you think they've spotted me."  
"Meow."

Time passed, Mr Snuffles watched as his colleague waddled off towards the compound, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. After a few minutes, Guard Duck had reached the entrance to the compound. It seemed as if fortune was smiling upon him, as he realised a truck was leaving the base. As the gates opened, and with him being an innocent looking little duck, he decided to take a chance and strolled in to the base without challenge. Watching all this, Snuffles nodded to himself, and started taking notes, then started working on his laptop. He smiled to himself as he was able to bypass the security protocols. Seriously, did these NERV people really think their precious MAGI was that secure? Hell, a fourteen year old geek could probably hack into their systems on his lunch break.  
But it was such a lovely sunny day and he was a cat. So after a while Snuffles stretched, curled up and went to sleep, as he left his intrusion program to do its work.

After what appeared to be just a few minutes, he was aware of an approaching presence. Opening an eye, he was unsurprised to see Guard Duck returning, however he was suprised to see the sun much lower in the sky. Looking at the laptop, he got a further surprise when he saw how much he'd downloaded.

"So nice to see that my life was in your capable paws. Have a nice nap?"  
"Mew. Meowr?"  
"Yeah, not a problem. You'd think they hadn't a worry in the world. They don't seem to any way concerned with having one of those Angels targeting them. I didn't expect them to be so lax in their security - I had the run of the place, one of their scientists even threw me a slice of bread. I was even able to enter the main hangar to see where they've got the Evangelion hooked up - I gotta admit, they look a hell of a lot bigger and uglier in the flesh than they do on tv. How the hell are those idiot crocs going to hide it, if we pull this off?"  
"Meow."  
"True, after delivery, it ceases to be our problem. Can you just answer me a question though, it's been bugging me since we took this job. You live with that Zebra, he's helped you get out of legal trouble loads of times - the WMD smuggling, getting busted helping Bashar Al-Assad with Syria's nuke program, yet you know the crocs plan on using the Eva to try and eat him. Don't you feel even a little bit guilty, biting the hand that feeds you and all that?"  
"Meow."  
"I know, I know, those crocs are so dumb, it was easy money, well, that we've yet to see just how easy it was. But even a blind squirrel can find a nut - aren't you worried there's the slightest possibility the crocs might fluke this thing? You've heard of Murphy's law, right?"  
"Meow"  
"What do you mean they won't be able to operate it. I heard a couple of the scientists going on how pleased they were with the Eva's power levels and how things were operating perfectly. And no soul? What the hell does soul got to do with it? Did James Brown have something to do with building this thing?"  
"Purrrrrr..."  
"Are you serious? No, that's impossible. It just doesn't make any sense. How the hell did they manage to- no, how the hell do you know all this anyway?"  
"Mereow!"  
"WHAAAAAT? You hacked their system? How did you manage to get into it, and waitasec, will they be able to track us down? I knew I should have taken my trusty RPG launcher with me."  
"Meow."  
"Oh, you used their own Wi-Fi? How'd you manage to get their password?  
"Meow."  
"12345? You're kidding."  
Snuffles shook his head.  
"Okay, you're not kidding. Christ, who's in charge of security there? President Skroob? So does that mean my little trip wasn't that necessary, even with the photos I got? After all, you've got access to their security systems. What else did you manage?"  
"MEEYOW!"  
"Oh man, you could run the place if you wanted with that. Okay, that makes things way more easy. I think we just might have a shot at pulling this off. How do we get away though? There's gotta be satellites, AWACS etc, all monitoring the area, how can we sneak an 80 metre robot past them?"  
"Meow. Meow. Meow."  
"I take my helmet off to you, you are one sneaky, sneaky genius. Come on, let's get back to the hotel."

Back in the hotel, Guard Duck was looking over some of the files Snuffles had downloaded. "This is ridiculous. I mean, there is no way those crocs will be able to get this running. Souls? Cores? S2 engines? This LCL stuff? Neural connections? With their brains they won't even be able to figure out how to get a pilot into it."  
"Meow."  
"What do you mean you'll give them a few tips? How will you do that?"  
"Meow."  
"You have got to be kidding me. What are you going to call it? 'My Very First Eva Unit'? How about 'Operating an Evangelion for Dummies'? Hell, make it into a colouring book for them. Heheh. Even then, that'll probably be too advanced for those crocs to figure out. Meh, I don't know why I'm even bothered about this, we've already been paid and Zebra won't be in any danger."  
"Meow."

"Something else I discovered. A day in the desert can really dry a duck out. Especially while I've been wandering in the desert while you were cuddled up with a laptop. Anyway, the rest of that data can wait. After all, we told the crocs not to be expecting its delivery for another couple of weeks. Now let's hit the bar!"  
"Meow!"

In the growing darkness a couple of thousand miles to the east, a solitary croc stood at the end of his driveway, looking up and down the street, while talking on his phone. "No Bob, da Evanjellybean not arrive yet. Mebbe ina few meenutes!"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Evangelion is the property of Gainax and Pearls Before Swine is owned by the supreme human being that is Stephan Pastis.

 **Las Vegas.**  
 **The next day.**

Early next morning, Guard Duck walked into Snuffles' room. To his surprise, the cat was already working away on his laptop. "Guess you weren't kidding when you decided to go to bed so early last night. You didn't miss much anyway."  
"Meow?"  
"Nah, I cleared out a while after you. No partying on this trip, I thought it'd be better to keep a low profile, especially with what we have on the agenda."  
"Meow?"  
"Why did I pick this hotel instead of the usual? Well, Rat, Pig and I got kinda barred from it last year. Don't ask."  
"Meow?"  
"Didn't I say don't ask? The guy really has a low tolerance for what he considers stupid people. And people call me violent? At least I only react to clear and present dangers. Rat just goes full out on people minding their own business. Dude has issues."  
"Mrrrrow..."  
"Give Rat the Evangelion? Oh hell no. can you imagine the utter carnage? He'd end up teaming up with the Angels just to get rid of the idiots in this world."  
Snuffles proceeded to have a laughing fit at this. "M-m-meow!"

"Anyway, onto more serious matters, how's your computer work going on? Have you managed to get us any further access to their systems?"  
Snuffles turned the laptop round so Guard Duck could look at it. A low whistle escaped his bill.  
"Ho-lee... You mean you are now running the MAGI. And nobody's noticed?"  
"Meow, meow, meow."  
"Sneaky. Basically you can do anything, and the MAGI tell all the other MAGI round the world everything is normal. Hot damn, we can do basically whatever we want without any outside interference! Mr. Snuffles my cat, you are a genius!" Guard Duck exclaimed, and slapped Snuffles on the shoulder.  
Snuffles just let out a smug purr.  
"So we can screw round with work orders, or personnel movements and nobody will be the wiser. This is doable. Getting the EVA out'll still be a... Hang on a sec, I've just had an idea."  
"Mrrow?"  
"I remember being told by an old friend that Boeing and Northrop had teamed up on a new version of the EVA carrier - they're working on a V/STOL carrier, to make things easier for field work. After all, you're not going to have a miles-long runway everywhere you're going to deploy, right?"  
"Meow."  
"Yep, I am thinking what you're thinking. You send orders to Seattle for them to send the carrier to Nevada just for some field tests, or to make sure it's compatible with the new Eva unit, some plausible excuse - make it look like it's from the top so there'll be no arguments. They send the carrier to Nevada, it lands, we hijack it, load up the Eva, and basically land it right in the crocs' back yard and leave them Unit-04. Saves us the trouble of trying to find an airfield that's long enough and quiet enough to land at and then worry about having to transport it to the Crocs without causing a traffic jam - that'd be a very quick way of getting spotted. We then program the carrier's autopilot to head out over the Pacific Ocean and disappear after we've already bailed out, all DB Cooper style, and we're home free."  
"Meow!"  
"So what if they found some of that money? It doesn't mean he didn't survive and keep the rest, right? Besides, it's not like we're going to be bailing out over the Washington wilderness in a stormy night from a Boeing 727, right? It'll be easy."  
"Meow."  
"You worry too much."  
"Meow."  
"Yeah, well you don't get old in our line of business by leaving loose ends, or underestimating the opposition. I'll have to have a look at the personnel files, see if anyone could be considered difficult."  
"Mereow!"  
"Neutralise them? Lethal or non-lethal?"  
"Meow!"  
Guard Duck paused to consider the implications.  
"Okay, that complicates things, but I suppose if we don't leave a trail of bodies, if it does hit the fan, not killing anybody might mean they won't be quite as thirsty for our blood. But we'd need something that could put a lot people down for quite a while, but it's a big space and people will be spread... Ahhh... You've control of their system, right?"  
"Meow!"  
"Okay, so you make up some sort of emergency staff assembly, or something along those lines to try and get as many of the people in one location. We lock them in, or make sure they can't communicate, and as an added measure, get the MAGI to ensure no kind of alert is sent out. We then take out anyone who's wandering round - we time it right, there won't be too many.  
"Meow. Meow!"  
"What? They've scheduled an S2 engine test run in a couple of weeks? Hmmm... Okay, that's our opportunity. We make it look like it's going horribly wrong, they head to the bunkers, we seal them in, go after the Eva, haul it out and-"  
"Meeeowww..."  
"Yeah. We're supposed to make it look like it was destroyed. Guess I get to blow stuff up after all. means we'll need spare parts and organic material to leave scattered round. This really doesn't get any easier, does it?"  
"Meow, meow."  
"Yeah, and the test means there'll probably be extra surveillance going on. I was looking, they have a satellite in geo-synchronous orbit - someone will be watching that feed live. We'll have to blind it."  
"Meow!"  
Guard Duck shrugged his shoulders. "I don't suppose you know anybody who's got a spare one of those old 1980's ASAT missiles lying around?"  
Snuffles looked at him for a second, and then smirked.  
"Meow."  
"What do you mean you need to get the missus a bunch of flowers? I didn't know you had anyone on the side."  
The smirk widened to a grin.  
"Meow."

"So this is why you wanted a room with a landline?" asked Guard Duck, as he watched Snuggles come out of the room with a strange box, which had a headset and what appeared to be an old school telephone plug attached to it and walk over to the phone.  
Snuffles proceeded to put the headset on, switch on the box, hook it up to the phone and then started dialling.  
The phone rang three times, then there was a click and a Russian accented voice could be heard. "Fedorov's Flowers, Arkady speaking. How may I help you today?"  
Snuffles hit a button, and started to talk, but to Guard Duck's surprise, a perfectly human sounding voice came through on the speaker. "Oh hello, could I please speak to Vinny. It's a kind of urgent matter."  
There was a pause on the other end, but Arkady's voice came back, a little tense, "I'm sorry sir, but Vinny is no longer working for us. Perhaps I can still be of assistance?"  
Snuffles tapped out some more words, and his human-style voice replied. "I guess so. I was looking about a bouquet for my wife's 44th birthday, what would you recommend?"  
Another pause, but when Arkady replied, his voice was much more relaxed sounding. "How about some yellow roses to start with?"  
Snuffles thought about this, before resuming typing. "Sounds good. How soon can you arrange it? I can call into the store to pick them up."  
Arkady's response was measured. "I can have them ready on 72 hours. We're open from 9-7 all this week. And who's name shall I put on the card?  
Guard Duck almost spat out his soda when he heard the reply. "Stephan Pastis."  
"Of course, Mr Pastis, I'll have everything ready, I hope you'll find all is in order. See you soon" and hung up.

The duck let out a low whistle. "Nice work with the Diamonds are Forever style voice changer, I assume you and the Russian guy were using some sort of code."  
"Meow, meow, meow."  
"Pretty complex system you guys have. Okay, where are we meeting this guy?"  
"Meow."  
"New Orleans? Tomorrow night? We'd better get going then. And using Stephan's name? That's just evil."  
Snuffles just grinned. "Meow."

In a suburban house, a young crocodile was watching television, when an older one walked into the room.  
"Hey son. What you watching?"  
"Oh hi Dad, it's just one of those How Do They Make It shows. This one's about the balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Those things are huge!"  
"Yes. Yes dey are." He paused. Junior could almost hear the gears grinding in his father's head. Just then Larry jerked back. "Oh, me gotta idea! Must run. Bye!"  
"Dad?" Junior looked up to see his father making a quick exit. Luckily for Larry, it was only a short distance to the Zeeba Zeeba Eeta fraternity house. Banging on the door, he began yelling.  
"Bob! Floyd! Open up! Me got gud idea how to hide the Evajellybean! Me need to use your credit card!"


	4. Chapter 4

**New Orleans**  
 **The following day.**

As the rented car hit another pothole on the what was left of the Ponchartrain Expressway, Guard Duck looked out the passenger's side window and sighed. "Boy, this place really is a dump. I mean, I don't know why anyone even attempts to live here anymore, never mind still call it a city. You'd think after the Second Impact flooding, then the Hurricane Katrina assault, then Winter Storm Gertrude's flooding causing the Mississippi to change course and flow down the Atchafalaya, that people here would get the message and leave. It's swamp, ruins, crime and not a lot else, really. It makes Helmand Province look like Disneyworld."

Needing to keep his attention on the road to avoid any more craters, Snuffles merely nodded his head. "Mrrow."

Guard Duck chuckled and glanced at the map. "Yeah, and there's what's left of the Superdome. We should be getting close to the train station. You know, those storms were the best thing to happen to the Saints. Moving to LA really transformed that organisation. Brees is a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. Five rings? Unbelievable, and had it not been for that pick six by Revis up in Detroit, he'd have had number six. Still can't believe the damn Jets pulled that one off. Cost me a ton of money."

Snuffles couldn't suppress his laughter. "Meow!  
Meow!  
Meow!  
Meow!  
MEOW MEOW MEOW!"

"Oh shut up. That chant is annoying. Anyway, it's not like you were following the Jets during the times when they sucked. You're just - oh hell, here's our exit coming up, take the first left after we get off".  
Snuffles proceeded to follow his navigator's directions, and soon they were pulling into a space in a multi storey car park just outside the Union Passenger Terminal.

"Okay, we're here. And we've got a few minutes to spare. You want to get a bite to eat?"  
A shake of the head. "Purrr..."  
Guard Duck shrugged. "Pity. Oh well, it's your call, besides this is your turf. Lead on. Or whatever it is we're doing."  
Snuffles looked at Guard Duck. "Meow."  
Forty five minutes later, still sitting in the car, Guard Duck was starting to get restless. "Okay, I think this guy is late. Hope nothing happened to him. I could murder some jambalaya."  
Snuffles rolled his eyes, and proceeded to pull down the drivor's visor and put it back up. "Mrrrroww."  
"What do you mean, I lack patience? And why should I look down?" As Guard Duck looked down, he was aware of a red dot on his chest. "Oh shhhiii-."  
"Meow!"  
"Don't panic? I'm not panicking! I'm not doing anything!"

"When Mr Snuffles tells you not to panic, it means all is under control, my little feathered friend." a Russian accented voice whispered through the open window to Guard Duck, who proceeded to almost hit the roof of the car, followed by laughter. Which was joined by snickering from Snuffles.  
"Come, you two, Yevgeniy is waiting, by the way, I am Pasha, head of security."

As he was speaking, a nondescript looking van pulled up, the side door opened, and another man wielding a sniper rifle gestured them inside.  
"Don't worry Mr Duck, Vanya wouldn't have shot you, after all, Mr Snuffles vouched for you. Consider him there for extra security." Pasha laughed. Now let's go."  
The three of them climbed into the van, and the van slowly drove off, careful not to attract any attention.

The ride was a silent one. Snuffles took the opportunity for a quick catnap, and Guard Duck merely sat keeping his thoughts to himself. Pasha and Vanya and the driver spent the time having a spirited discussion, about what, Guard Duck hadn't a clue. After twenty minutes, the van drove into an industrial estate, and after a few random turns, drove into a warehouse.

Pasha opened the door, "Okay, we're here. Everybody out." Guard Duck and Snuffles exited the van, and Guard Duck let out a low whistle.  
"You are impressed, Mr Duck?" Pasha asked him.  
"It's like I've died and gone to heaven" Guard Duck muttered, taking in the vast array of armaments on display. MANPADS, rifles, AAMs, Guard Duck took it all in. Gesturing to the tank parked beside the office, "I'd love to ask how you managed to get a VT-4 when they aren't even in PLA use yet, but I know better than to do that."

"You are wise, my friend." a new voice boomed. "And I like wise customers. Much easier to do business with. And it is good to see you again Snuffles Garfieldovich!"  
Jaw dropping, Guard Duck looked at Snuffles. "Garfieldovich? You mean... ah, later" He just shook his head.  
"Meowrr, meowr, purrrr" Snuffles said, as he and the new man, who Guard Duck assumed to be Yevgeniy, embraced each other.  
"Yes, Mr Duck, I am Yevgeniy, purveyor of fine goods and some rather high tech items, and Mr Snuffles and I go back a long way. So, gentlemen, we have business to discuss. Might I suggest we start over some nice jambalaya?" he added, throwing a wink at Guard Duck.  
At this, the penny dropped for Guard Duck. "You guys were checking us out that whole time. Very professional, I am most impressed. But yes, I am also very hungry. let's eat!"  
Yevgeniy laughed. "A duck after my own heart, this way gentlemen."

"So, what is it you're looking for?"  
"We're looking for something to blind a satellite."  
At this, the Russians had a collective eyebrow raise. "What kind of satellite? RORSAT? Milstar? Weather?  
"Misty."  
In the murky underworld world of black market arms dealers, Yevgeniy Bondarenko was known as an unflappable man, who always seemed to be at least one or two steps ahead of his clients and rivals. A man who was never surprised. Not this time.  
Yevegeniy was surprised and he couldn't disguise it, he muttered an oath in Russian. Then he laughed.  
"You are funny. Even I, with my dealing in some of Snuffles Garfieldovich's prior operations would not expect something crazy, but not this crazy. So, we are being serious. What is it you are doing?"  
Guard Duck met Yevgeniy's eyes. "I told you. We need to blind an NRO Misty satellite."  
Yevgeniy stopped laughing. "You are serious, yes? I think you may have come to the wrong person. I am thinking maybe it is time we concluded our business." And with that, Yevgeniy turned his back, gesturing to Pasha and Vanya, who shrugged, and began to walk towards Guard Duck and Snuffles.

"Meow. Meooow, mrrow mew. Merrrow meeeeeowww."

Yevgeniy stopped. Another gesture, and the other two Russians stopped, and returned to their original positions.

"Okay. You are serious. And you have a plan. Okay, because it's you, and I know what you are capable of, I am listening. Who exactly are you dealing with?

The NRO? the UN? CIA?"  
"Meow."  
Yevgeniy smiled for the first time in a while. "NERV? You're going after NERV? Why didn't you say so? Oh yes, I guess we can do business. And since it's NERV, I'd be delighted to help. I owe that Ikari piece of trash some payback. So what have you got in mind?"  
"Merrrrooowww, meow, meow. Mew, purrr"  
"I see. Yes, I agree. The ASAT missile's too slow and obvious. By the time it even gets into orbit, their rapid reaction forces will be all over your ass. However, I think I may be able to obtain a certain portable Chinese ASAT laser that the PLAAF were working on. From what I understand, the PLAAF top brass have fallen in love with it, and are itching to use it for real at some point. I don't think the Americans or the Japanese are aware of it as far as I know, so you shouldbe able to smuggle it into Japan without too much trouble."  
"Meow. Meowr, mrrow!"  
"Not Japan? You mean NERV-2? That makes it easier for you, I guess. I'd love to know what you've planned out in the desert, but I know better than to ask." With a nod to Guard Duck. "See, Mr. Duck, I too know when to be wise."  
Guard Duck smiled. "I'm sure someone as wise as you will be able to work out what we're up to quite easily."

Returning the smile, "Okay, so you need the TQ-3 laser. I'll get on that right away. Anything else?"  
"Yeah, some fast acting, non-lethal takedown stuff. Something that can permeate an entire ventilation system, nice and quickly, without any attention."  
Yevgeniy did some calculations. "Okay, doable. Anything else? Explosives? Hand weapons?"  
Guard Duck smirked. "That's okay, I have that matter well in hand."  
"Okay, so all we need do is agree a price. This won't come too cheap, you realise that?"  
Snuffles nodded. "Meow."  
Yevgeniy named his price. Guard Duck paled. Turning to Snuffles, he nodded towards the corner. Snuffles proceeded to mosey over to him, looking expectantly at him.

"That's going to eat into the money we got from the crocs big time. We're not going to be able to make much of a profit. Unless... we do a deal with him. I'm thinking, how abut we..."  
Snuffles listened to Guard Duck's proposition, and to Guard Duck's suprise, nodded. "Meow meow!"  
"Okay, let's see if he'll bite."

"So gentlemen, have we a deal?" Yevgeniy asked the two as they returned to him.  
"Yes, Yevgeniy, your price is agreeable. However we were wondering, if we could perhaps offer a little extra in exchange for a reduction in your price."  
With a smile on his face, as Yevgeniy knew where this was going. "Okay, I'm listening."  
Pulling out a flash drive from somewhere, Snuffles placed it on the table. "Meow."  
Now as rare as it was for Yevgeniy Bondarenko to be surprised, it was unheard of him to be surprised twice in one day. "How... I mean... where... This is real?"  
Guard Duck pointed to his laptop. "Feel free to take a look. there's plenty more from where that came from ."  
Yevgeniy booted up the laptop, inserted the drive, and scanned through a couple of the files. "My God, this is incredible. And it's real?"  
"Taken from NERV-2's MAGI. interesting stuff, isn't it?"  
Stunned, Yevegniy nodded. "Amazing. And you're willing to part with this as part of our deal? I'd figured you were doing something Evangelion related, but this is amazing. And they don't know you have all this?"  
"Nope."  
"This is unbelievable. I'll be honest, even with what I'm giving you, looking at this, I'm probably going to have to ask you to name your price." A rueful laugh followed.  
Now it was Snuffles's turn to smile. "Meow, meooowww."  
"Done. I'll have the money in your accounts by tomorrow. Now let's have a drink to celebrate our deal."

Soon they were back in the van, being driven to their car. Pasha was incredulous. "I've never seen the boss like this. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. You guys think you really can pull this off?"  
"Purrrrrr..."  
"Well, from what I've heard in the past about you, I wouldn't be surprised. you know something, you and I actually came close to crossing paths once.  
"Meow?"  
Pasha laughed ruefully. "I was in that Spetsnaz platoon back in Kostroma in '99. We ended up getting there too late to stop you. Blowing the bridge delayed us just long enough for you to get the warheads out. I have to admit, it was a masterful operation.  
Snuffles laughed and held his paw out, Pasha shook it. "At least this time we're on the same side, yes? Mutual profit for all of us if this goes well."

Before long they were back at the car park. As Pasha opened the door, he looked at Snuffles. "We've had a couple of people watching your car and this area, and there's been nobody snooping round, so you guys are all clear. The boss will be in touch when he gets the goods, and we'll arrange the drop off. Goodbye and good luck."  
Snuffles nodded, and Guard Duck shook his hand. "Thanks and good luck to you too, Pasha. We'll talk to you guys soon."  
The door closed and the van drove off.  
"Okay, we're on our own again. I guess we've got a couple of days til Yevgeniy comes through. Where to next?"  
"Meow!"  
"Home sounds good. I wonder what Pig's been up to? Oh, and Garfield, seriously? What was you mom's name? Arlene?"

"Rrrrrrr..."

Back at the warehouse, Yevgeniy was looking over the files with ever growing amazement. _'And to think they were willing to give me even more_.' he thought, his mind flashing back to their conversation over the celebratory vodka.

"So, NERV-2. You two are going in, yes?"  
"Yeah, we're going to liberate some stuff from NERV-2. Anything there you'd be interested in? A couple of those prog knives? A few gallons of LCL? Hell, make a shopping list, if you want!"  
Snuffles almost chocked on his drink at that.  
Yevgeniy laughed. "That would be like painting a big target on my back for Ikari and his Section-2 enforcers if I suddenly came into possession of those things. Bit too obvious, yes? I'll settle for the data, much easier to keep hold of, and won't attract near as much attention, and I can use it to make life difficult for Ikari too. Thank you for the offer, my friends, but I'll pass on that one."  
His daydreaming was abruptly ended by a beep on his computer, letting him know he'd downloaded the entire drive to his laptop. _'Right, start taking care of my end of the deal now_.'  
Picking up the phone, he dialed a string of numbers, then waited a few seconds. Eventually he could hear the phone being answered and a voice on the other end speaking. "Ah yes, General Wa, it's Yevgeniy. it's about a certain little project you have, and I may have something you might be interested in..."

 **Moonachie, New Jersey**  
 **The previous day.**

It was a quiet evening at Macy's Parade Studio. The last tour had finished, and the crew were getting ready to go home. In his office, Nick Quaglia, the lead designer was putting the finishing touches to a prospective design when his phone rang.  
"Yes, Anna?" he asked his secretary.  
"Sir, there's a gentleman on the phone, and, well, maybe you should hear what he has to say for yourself. He's a little hard to understand."  
"Okay, put him through."  
"Yes sir." followed by the sound of the line being connected.

"Hello, Nicholas Quaglia here, I understand you wished to speak to me?"  
"Hullo! Me Larry, are you balloon maker guy? If you is, then gud, cos me haf biiig job for you!"  
Quaglia didn't know what to make of this. "Sorry, is this some kind of joke?"  
"Joke? Me no joke, me serious. Me needs big balloon and it must be quick." Larry was outraged that the balloon guy didn't appear to be taking him seriously.  
"Okay then, if this is serious. Who are you, and why do you need a balloon?" What the hell, Quaglia thought, it's ten minutes to quitting time, and  
"Me name is Larry DaCroc, and me CEO of Eetazeeb Corporayshun. Our company is in huge need of giant balloon ASAP after we was let down by sum-sump-sub-contractor. Money is no object."

Quaglia was intrigued. Clearly this was some foreign company, and while the guy's English was terrible, he did sound sincere. "Okay sir, now, it normally takes us a few months to design and build our balloons. What kind of timeframe are you looking at?"  
He wasn't expecting the answer he got.

"Tuesday week!"

Oh boy.  
Quaglia took a deep breath. "I'm sorry sir, but there's pretty much zero chance of that happening. We need to have preliminary sketches and you'd have to approve, before we could even get to-" only to be cut off by an angry Larry.

"You no need waste time designing. Make beeg version of me. Take pic of me and build it. As me said money no object. If you not able to do thees, mebbe you tell me if anyone else can, and me take money elsewhere!"

While Larry was ranting, Sarah Harper, Quaglia's assistant designer came in, carrying two coffees. Rolling his eyes, Quaglia pointed at the phone and hit the speakerphone button. Whoa, mouthed the assistant, Quaglia nodded.  
"Okay, Mr Decroc, we can give this a try. You come down here tomorrow, and we'll can make a start. But we'll have to work out a contract. We get paid in advance, and there are no penalties if we make the deadline. Now, how big do you want the balloon?"

"250 foot high!" came the instant reply.  
Two cups of coffee hit the ground.

Quaglia's mask of professionalism slipped. "Sorry, but are you actually serious?"  
"Yes me is. Now name your price! Or me go elsewhere"  
While this was going on, Harper was busy on a calculator. Turning it towards Quaglia, she pointed at it. Quaglia looked at it, let out a silent whistle. Turning his attention back to the phone, he spoke again, not even trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice.  
"Okay, Mr Decroc, we can give it a try but it's going to be expensive." And he proceeded to name his price.  
There was silence on the line, and Quaglia and Harper exchanged wry looks, then Larry came back.

"Okays, we haf deal. me be down tomorrow to help get started and gif money. What time you want me there at?"  
"Uhh... umm... how does 10 am sound?" a stunned Quaglia managed to stammer out.  
"Right, me see you then. Thanks Meester Balloon Guy. Bye!"  
Click.  
Harper looked at Quaglia. "Sorry Nick, but what the hell just happened?"

Quaglia slumped in his chair. "Seriously? I don't know, either we're all going to be insanely busy over the next couple of weeks and then have a huge profit increase, or someone's going to be in a lot of trouble. Who the hell is this Decroc guy anyways? And Eetazeeb Corporation? Never heard of them."

Harper was already looking on their phone. "Eetazeeb?" Weird name, guess it's foreign - he did sound like he was from abroad anyways... oh, gotta hit. Yeah, there is an Eetazeeb Corporation, and this Larry guy apparently IS their CEO. Wow, he's actually a crocodile. No idea what they do, but they do seem legit."

Quaglia slumped even deeper in his chair. "Well, we better start laying the groundwork. 250 feet? And he is a crocodile? We better start looking round for a lot of green material to be shipped here ASAP. So much for getting out on time, hell so much for getting much sleep over the next few days. Let's make this happen."

"On it."


	5. Chapter 5

**Somewhere over the United States.**

The Embraer 190 jolted upwards once again as it flew through the turbulent air, giving its passengers a bumpy ride. Some slept, others gripped the armrests of their seats that bit tighter, while a group of kids treated it like a rollercoaster ride, oohing and aahing with each bounce, trying the patience of just about everyone on the flight. All but two. A cat and a duck were deep in conversation, while the cat pointed at something on a laptop screen.

"Meow."

Guard Duck squinted at the screen. "What am I looking at?"

"Meow meow meow, mereow!"

"A lot of power being used where there's no indication of anything that needs power. And according to the blueprints we got from the MAGI, that room is an empty storage hangar. Something seems a little off. "

"Mrrrowww..."

Guard Duck looked at Snuffles. "Seriously? The MAGI doesn't have any information about what's there? Something doesn't just seem a little off, something is seriously off. Somebody's hiding something. I assume you're going to try and find out."

"Meow."

"Fine, knock yourself out, I'm going to try and catch a bit more sleep. I hate these red-eye flights."

 **NERV Second Branch.**  
 **The same time.**

Brian Gartland was a nervous man. The head of Nerv's Second Branch had just finished with a conference call with the two most important people in his career, if not his life. "Thank the Lord that's over and done with, well for another week. Those two guys would scare the hell out of the devil himself."

Pressing a button on his intercom, he waited til the other person repsonded. "All finished Gabby, come on in."

The door opened and in walked Gartland's second-in-command, Gabriel Sava, with a smirk on his face. "I see you managed to survive your latest encounter with the Gruesome Twosome without any after effects."

Garland merely narrowed his eyes. "Funny, real funny. Maybe the next time, I can manage to be unavailable for some vague and undefined reason, and let you deal with them. How's that sound?"

Sava threw up his hands in mock surrender. "You wouldn't dare!" At Gartland grinned, Sava shook his head. "Dammit Garto, I didn't think you were capable of such below the belt tactics. That's almost Ikari-esque. No offence intended." He added, with a grin of his own. "So, anything new with the Chairman and the Commander? Or just another 'Ve haf vays of making you do vat ve vant ven ve vant and damn der casualties' pep talk?"

Leaning back in his chair, Gartland thought for a second. "No, just the usual stuff, demands for updates on the progress with Unit-04, the S2 engine and the synchronisation scores of the pilot. Oh, but the good news? Kihl told me the UN are planning on sending an agent of theirs to carry out a report on us, but that he's arranged that the agent guy'll be one of his, so that's one less thing to worry about. I reckon the report's already been written."

Sava raised an eyebrow at that information. "Is this room-" only to be cut off by Gartland.

"Yeah, I had it swept just before the conference call. We're secure."

Nodding, Sava sat back. "That will still complicate matters. One less thing to worry about? Somehow I'd rather have the UN guy be a real UN guy instead - they've always been pretty easy to fool. Will we be able to handle the Chairman's bloodhound sniffing round? Especially with the stuff we have off the system? He finds that, we are dead."

"Well, you know the one way to avoid that. Main thing is, we need is to have a successful AS2 test. I mean, we know Unit-04 is operational and deployable if needed, the repaired S2 engine works fine. Ikari's pet Akagi overestimated the damage that was done to it. Some super scientist she is. Anyway, we get the AS2 up and running, and by the time Ikari's bloodhound shows up, we can have it stashed somewhere. Preferably where we can get production set up. According to the data I've seen, it looks like our new little S2 engine will be much more efficient than the ones Seele's putting in the mass production models. Of course, when you don't have to worry about making it mobile, or have to make it capable of surviving combat, you can do a lot more with it."

Sava grinned. "Preaching to the choir, Brian, preaching to the choir." The grin faded. "Still, I'm worried. The longer it takes, the more chance we have of getting found out. Kihl and Ikari have never been exactly tolerant of people using their precious resources for something that doesn't meet their goals."

"I know. And the AS2 project is diametrically opposed to their goals."

A shudder from Sava. "Human Instrumentality. What a sick joke. Individuality? Humanity? Freedom of Choice? Nah, let's all have a global hivemind thing under Seele. With Kihl and Ikari as the godheads? I think I'd sooner bite a bullet than be round for that."

Gartland looked at him skeptically. "I think we've been over this ground often enough in the past. I still think the Angels will be defeated, and that Instrumentality is a pipe dream. They think it'll happen just because it's written on some parchment? There's no way they'll be able to bring it off. And when that's all over, Kihl and co will realise the AS2 project will make them rich beyond even their wildest dreams. Until then, we just have to keep up the façade that we're all eager followers looking forward to Instrumentality and all the joys it will bring. Sheesh."

Sava nodded. "Unlimited cheap and clean energy for all. The treehuggers will love it because the fossil fuel and nuclear reactors won't be needed. Those guys at Japan Heavy Chemical Industries? they'll be begging for one to replace the stupid reactor in their Jet Alone." Gartland snorted at that. "Seriously, what was Tokita and his idiot brigade thinking? Hey you guys!" Gartland laughed at Sava's Sloth Fratelli impersonation,"I have a g-r-r-reaaat idea! We'll put a easily compromised reactor in our own war robot! Nothing can go wrong - Oh wait. Oops, somebody managed to break the bot. Now what? I know! Let's just panic as our robot blows up, nuking our own city and making us glow in the dark. Well done guys. That hottie Katsuragi really saved their asses, didn't she?"

Another nod from Gartland. "Yeah, and brought us even more funding, which was needed right then. Which was most coincidental, don't you think? Our main rival for funding gets taken out at the same time? And as for Katsuragi? You might want to watch what you say around her, she can be pretty mean drunk sometimes." Sava raised an eyebrow at this. "Seriously Gabby, She outdrinks everyone I know. One night during a conference weekend in Berlin, a few of us had a drinking contest. To make it more even it was her against the rest of us put together, and she still won easily. And then proceeded to throw a guy out a second storey window. I think he was her ex or something. She's dangerous, but loyal. 'Great attack dog' I once heard Ikari say about her.

"Think she'll be the one sent?" Sava asked.

"No, she's too tied up with TacOps over in Tokyo. Kihl told me it'll be some guy named Kaji. But we have a few weeks til he gets here. Plenty of time to get everything sorted."

"And they still don't know what we're doing?"

A smile. "No, they still think we're making final checks on the S2 engine and its integration with Unit-04. I'd love to see the look on Ikari's face if he found out Unit-04 has been technically operational the past two months. We'll continue to keep them in the dark. A 'successful Unit-04 test' should keep them all happy, and then the heat will be off. Especially when Ikari decides he wants Unit-04 to be based somewhere else. Like Japan. "

"Unit-04 to Japan? You think that's where it'll end up?"

"You know the way Ikari works. He'll simply tell us that since the Angels are only attacking Japan, he needs all the Evas, and the committee will agree. Unless we have an attack elsewhere, I'd say all the Evas will end up there, including Unit-03. Anyway we now need to have a plan in place for this Kaji guy when he shows up to snoop around. So, I'll leave the joys of working that out to you."

Recognising the dismissal, Sava rose from his seat. "Will do." He paused. "Guess I should have realised we'd be playing with the big boys before too long." Gartland opened his mouth to say something, but Sava waved him off. "I know, I know, nothing of these matters on anything remotely connected to the MAGI, it's like second nature now. I'll get started. Later, boss." Sava turned and walked out the door.

As the door closed, Gartland turned his attention to his computer screen. Maybe it was just having been talking to Kihl and Ikari reinforcing his paranoia, or maybe it was nothing, but he decided to take no chances, and contacted the person in charge of the local MAGI, a Darren Meenan. "Darren, Brian Gartland here. I need you to carry out a level seven scan on the MAGI, with special emphasis on any external communication links." As Meenan acknowledged the order, Gartland sat back, pulled out a tablet, and began scanning through the latest updates on the Artificial S2 Engine Project, making a few notations here and there.

 **Moonachie, New Jersey**

"How's it going people? is it doable?" Nicholas Quaglia asked his team.

Heads looked at each other and nodded. "Quite doable, in fact we should be able to get this done quicker than we thought." his assistant, Sarah Harper was the first to speak. "The uhh.. client wasn't that demanding, though he wanted us to cut as many corners as we wanted. Seems he's not too bothered about it being airtight, which makes me wonder what exactly does he want it for? A humongous balloon that will run out of helium sooner rather than later?"

"Beats me" admitted Quaglia. "Still, he's paid in advance and in full, and signed the no penalties clause, so we're good to go. Still, A talking crocodile. You don't see too many of them."

Another person at the table spoke up. "My cousin goes to college and she told me they have a fraternity of crocs there. Though she told me they're collectively dumber than a bag of rocks, the only reason they got in was beause of some scholarship program that some crazy guy set up a few years ago."

"Crocs in college? Who thought that up?"  
"What next? Poisonous water snakes working in hospital operating theaters?"  
"It's all Obama's fault!"  
"Teenagers in giant robots fighting off aliens?"  
"Can't we blame Bush?"  
"Please, there's as much chance of that happening as Mark Sanchez turning out to be a useful quarterback?"  
"Blame Canada!"  
"Wonder if we can do a deal on their skins to make some extra ..." This last one was lost in the growing hubbub.

Quaglia slammed a folder onto the table top, silencing the crowd. "People! focus! Doesn't matter what the client is, does or believes, he's paid, and have a product to create for him, so let's get cracking, okay? Sarah? How we fixed for materials?"

"All here, just needed four colors, two shades of green, and smaller amounts of black and white. We're good."

"Monique? Design status?"

"Sorted, pretty simplistic design, the guy, croc, whatever didn't object to us making it look even simpler than he was." This last bit was met with a snicker by some of the others. "Seriously, one of the easiest 3-D modelling sessions we've had in a while."

"Funny. Rob? How's the cutting going?"

"Started, we should be up to speed before too long."

Quaglia nodded. "Good. I know it's a rush job, and you guys are going above and beyond the call of duty to get this done, but it'll be worth it in the end."

"Overtime always helps." Sarah said, drawing a few laughs from everyone. "Okay, back to work."

 **Somewhere in Suburbia**

A pig opened his door. "Welcome home Guard Duck, where have you been?"

"Hello sir, good to be back. I was just on a short vacation, with Maura." Guard Duck had his story all sorted, and besides Pig, while nice, was a bit dim.

"Maura? How's she doing? Still flying away leaving you... Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to say anything. Forgive me"

"It's alright sir, I'm used to it by now." Guard Duck mumbled as he tried to extricate him from Pig's hug.

Well, dinner will be ready in a while, make yourself at home again."

"Thank you sir. I won't be staying to long, as Maura and I have aranged to meet again in a day or so, planning a... uhh.. romantic weekend."

Pig clapped his hands. "Oh, that sounds so wonderful! I wonder if I could get Pigita to go on one too. We could go on a double date!"

"Sorry sir, umm you see, we're going to Iran. Not the best place for you and Miss Pigita to go. Local laws and all that."

Pig visibly saddened, sagged. "Oh. Oh that's alright. We'll probably go bowling or something then."

Guard Duck nodded. "Bowling is an excellent idea. Have fun." and then proceeded into the living room, where Rat was lying on the couch, drinking beer and watching tv.

"The prodigal returns." belched Rat. "How was your latest 'Maura date'? it must've been a quick one, considering there's a letter to you postmarked from Outer Mongolia. And Zebra was telling me yesterday he hasn't seen that cat of his for a few days. Just a mere coincidence, huh?"

Guard Duck nodded. "Yes sir, Snuffles and I have just been hanging out really, nothing too serious. Oh, you might like to know we're still barred from that hotel in Vegas." he added, with a grin.

Rat put on a hurt face. "You guys went to Vegas? And you didn't invite me? I thought I was your friend. And I thought... wait a second. I'm still barred from the hotel? Because of that one little thing? That's crazy, I mean they were the ones who went and hired idiots, yet I'm the one that gets barred? Ridiculous!" At this point Rat began to go on one of his rants, so Guard Duck tuned him out, and then decided to call round to Zebra's.

Knocking at Zebra's door, Guard Duck looked around him. There was Neighbour Jim mowing his lawn, another neighbour was out washing his windows and the Crocs were looking over the fence at Zebra's house, drooling. Nothing new, then. The door opened and it was Snuffles.

"Hey Snuffles Garfieldovich" he snickered as he stepped inside, only to have Snuffles swat him.

"Okay, okay, I'll drop it. Where's Zebra?"

"Purrrrr."

Guard Duck rolled his eyes. "Serious? Why would anyone go round to any more of Goat's poetry nights? I mean, there's boring, really boring, and then so boring that if you were any more bored you'd be bored to death, and then you've got Goat's Poetry Night."

"Mew!"

"What do you mean I sound like Rat? I just find those Poetry Nights boring. Especially if Rat's not there to liven things up." he added, with a snicker, which was replicated by Snuffles. "So, all settled in at home, no issues with Zebra over your not being home?"

"Meow."

"Cool. Guy really is too trusting for his own good sometimes. he even thought that Billy kid from The Family Circus could be trusted, and look what happened. The family gets caught harboring Bin Laden, but nooo, Zebra still thought he was a good kid. it wasn't until he told the Crocs that 'Zeeba taste gud' that Zebra finally realised the truth. And meanwhile, here we are helping his enemies. Sometimes I just wonder..."

"Mrrrow."

"Yeah, I know, you've got his best interests at heart, you just like to have some fun screwing with him. Can't blame a guy, really. So, back to business. Any progress on our mysterious room?"

Snuffles nodded. "Meow, meowwrrr, meow. Mrrrow, purrr, mow." He then turned the laptop around to show him the results of his work. Duck whistled at this revelation.

"Okay, the whole cross-checking the surveillance cameras was a stroke of genius, and you've been able to work out how long these guys have been going in and out of that room? Lemme see." Snuffles clicked a couple of times, and Guard Duck's appreciation for his colleague's ingenuity went up yet another notch. "Hoh-kay. That's Gartland and his buddy Sava, right? And they're spending an awful lot of time in there. Who else spends as much time... Shane Grimes? Isn't he their chief expert in S2 technology?" Scanning through the other names the duck was rapidly coming to a conclusion.

"They've got an S2 engine in that hangar - an S2 engine that they don't want anybody in Nerv to know about."

Snuffles nodded. "Meow."

"This changes things. Actually, I think this could make our job easier." Snuffles nodded again. "Okay, I better head back, Pig's got dinner ready. You want some?" Snuffles shook his head, and reached into a bag and pulled out a book.

"Meow."

"What, drop this at the Crocs on my way back. Sure, what is it?" Duck looked at it. "You weren't kidding about the tips. But seriously, 'Operating Your First Evangelion for Dummies' - you ripped off both my ideas!" A snicker from Snuffles. "Okay, I'll drop it off, and I'll call round again after dinner. See you later."

Patty the Croc was putting the last touches to dinner when the doorbell rang. "Junior? Could you get the door please?"

Junior acknowledged her and opened the door. "Oh, hello Mr. Duck, how can I help you?"

"Hello Junior. Is your father about?"

"He's not home yet. Something's going on with his corporation, and he's been out more often than not. He's due home shortly though. Do you want to wait for him?"

Guard Duck thought about it, then declined, and handed Junior the bag. "There's something there for your father. He's been looking for it for a while. Tell him Snuffles sends it with his compliments."

Junior accepted the bag, and invited Guard Duck in. "You sure you don't want to stay, and have some dinner? Mom's making tofu for me, and there's some for you if you want."

"Thanks Junior, but Pig already has me down for dinner. Thanks anyway, and give that to your father as soon as he gets home. Thanks." He then turned and started walking back to Pig's house.

Junior closed the door, and looked at the bag, wondering what it was. It felt like a book, but there was no way his dad would be interested in a book. The guy could barely read! Junior reached into the bag and took it out. It WAS a book. 'This is weird' Junior thought to himself. 'Operating Your First Evangelion for Dummies? What the hell has Dad got himself mixed up in now. Besides, this looks interesting, I'll have a look at it before he gets home.'

He then went up to his room and started reading. After a few minutes he put the book down and went online and started searching. After another ten minutes, he had to stop as his mother was calling him for dinner. Larry arrived just as the dinner was being served, leading to the usual barbs about how useless he was as a hunter, but for once Junior wasn't even listening. He ate his dinner so fast, his even his mother noticed, asking him why he was eating in a similar way to his father, but he wasn't listening. After he had cleaned his plate, he ran up to the room, gave the bag to his father and ran back upstairs. Next thing he could hear his father roaring "Sweeeeeeet! Me gotta go see guyz!" followed by a door slamming. But Junior had already dismissed it from his mind as he went online, searching for things about Evangelions.

After a few minutes, he came across a website, run by what appeared to be some kid called Kensuke Aida, from Japan. He began scanning through the site, then concentrated on reading it in more detail. The next thing he knew, his mother was telling him it was bedtime. Looking at the clock, he was shocked at how much time had passed. Getting ready for bed, he resolved he'd get in touch with this Aida kid, just to see what else he knew.


End file.
